Dairou first appeared as a playable fighter in Mortal Kombat: Deception, the 2004 fighting game from Midway, where short vocal reactions like this one accompany hits, throws and defeats during combat. Clips of those reactions later spread through fighting-game compilations, soundboards and reaction edits, where fans reused them outside their original matches. The scream remains popular because it is instantly recognisable as a Mortal Kombat reaction and short enough to drop into almost any dramatic moment without needing context.